Bach in Bayreuth

This chapter focuses on Richard Wagner’s reception of the forty-eight preludes and fugues that comprise Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, primarily on the basis of the diaries of Wagner’s wife Cosima. Cosima’s diaries record how Wagner and the pianist Joseph Rubinstein surveyed these masterpieces in a series of soirees at the couple’s home in Bayreuth. Wagner considered the Well-Tempered Clavier to be the essence of Bach’s art.

New Light on Robert Schumann’s Bach Reception

This chapter considers how Robert Schumann responded to Bach’s organ chorales, as well as to his St. Matthew and St. John Passions, on the basis of newly unearthed archival materials. According to these documents, Schumann prepared an anthology of Bach’s organ chorales for his colleague Eduard Krüger, and he preferred the smaller dimensions and quicker pacing of the St. John Passion. Schumann’s wife Clara (the great pianist) also shared his enthusiasm for this work.

Edward Elgar Reads Albert Schweitzer

This chapter examines Edward Elgar’s thoughts on Bach’s vocal works according to the many inscriptions made by him in his copy of Albert Schweitzer’s book, J. S. Bach. Elgar took a harsh view of Bach’s treatment of the human voice, and he derided Schweitzer as an author. Of particular interest are Elgar’s remarks about Bach’s sacred and secular cantatas.

Felix Mendelssohn’s Reception of Bach’s Organ Works

This chapter investigates how Felix Mendelssohn responded to Bach’s organ music on the basis of new evidence garnered from a recently published edition of Mendelssohn’s letters. According to these documents, Mendelssohn “received” Bach’s organ works in a variety of musical and social contexts across Europe. Of particular importance is Mendelssohn’s response to a set of four-hand piano transcriptions of Bach’s organ chorales prepared by his friend J. N. Schelble.

Introduction

This book deals with J. S. Bach’s posthumous role in music history. Combining the disciplines of history, biography, and musical analysis, it considers how four of the greatest composers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries engaged with Bach’s legacy. Special emphasis is given to Felix Mendelssohn’s and Robert Schumann’s reception of Bach’s organ works, Schumann’s encounter with the St. Matthew and St. John Passions, Richard Wagner’s musings on the Well-Tempered Clavier, and Edward Elgar’s (resoundingly negative) thoughts on Bach’s vocal works.